RJ Barrett’s rise to become Knicks’ face of franchise continues
By John Azzato
Daily Knicks Player of the Week: RJ Barrett
No surprise here. Although Randle was truly an All-Star last year, Barrett is cementing himself as the face of the Knicks. His scoring was vital to New York’s success this week, and although he wasn’t always as efficient as we’d like him to be, he’s coming into his own as a star in this league.
The 21-year-old had some efficiency issues against the Wizards in the Knicks’ first game this week. He made only six of his 22 field goal attempts and shot a lowly 25% from 3-point range.
However, one positive about his performance was his free throw shooting, as he hit five of his six attempts. Barrett’s best when he’s attacking the basket, and since he’s so good at finishing at the rim, he needs to be able to hit free throws when he gets fouled.
He also added six rebounds and three assists to his stat sheet, despite this being his “worst” outing of the week. Throughout the rest of the week, his performance would improve.
In the second game this week against the Jazz, he scored 24 points and drained eight of his 20 field goal attempts. He also took eight three-pointers, making four of them for an efficient 50% from beyond the arc. The former Duke Blue Devil continues to impress and his improved 3-point shot was evident in his outing against Utah.
Against the Hawks on Tuesday, Barrett attacked the rim and utilized his ability to finish at the rim. His aggressiveness led him to 17 free throw attempts, and he made 11 of them.
Barrett was only able to hit one of his seven 3-pointers, but he stuck to his strengths to get to the free-throw line to impact the game in other ways. New York’s centerpiece finished with 30 points and an impressive 13 rebounds. Although Trae Young handed the Knicks a narrow loss, Barrett was certainly a bright spot.
After that game, New York traveled to North Carolina to battle against a young and talented Hornets squad. And Barrett showed up.
He was a scoring machine against the Hornets and every aspect of his offensive game was on point. He made 10 of his 19 field goals attempted, including shooting 3-of-7 from the 3-point line.
Although Barrett’s been criticized for his free throw shooting, he finished 7-of-8 from the line. In this outing, Barrett truly showed how much potential he has to be a superstar in the NBA. Knicks fans are excited to continue to watch his growth and he’s showing no signs of stopping anytime soon.